TWM628113U - Standalone continuous processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an independent continuous process system for plasma processing objects to be processed. The system is provided with a pre-processing machine, a first independent process machine and a terminal independent process machine in sequence. The first independent process machine has a process cavity and two valves. The two valves are respectively arranged on both sides of the process cavity. The process cavity is sequentially provided with a first vacuum pumping area, a plasma processing area and a second interconnected area Vacuum pumping area; the terminal independent process machine has a terminal process cavity and a terminal valve, the terminal valve is located on one side of the terminal process cavity, and the terminal process cavity is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area, A terminal plasma processing area and a second terminal vacuum pumping area. Therefore, the present invention solves the problems of low sputtering quality and high sputtering cost of the conventional vacuum sputtering equipment.

Description

Standalone Continuous Process System

The invention relates to a process system, especially an independent continuous process system.

In many industrial fields (such as semiconductor manufacturing, optoelectronics, etc.), vacuum sputtering technology has been widely used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Among them, one of the methods of vacuum sputtering technology is plasma sputtering. Plasma, argon, neon and other passive ions in the plasma are accelerated by the electric field and hit the surface of the target material, the atoms on the target material are hit and fly to the surface of the substrate, and the surface of the substrate can be formed after the atomic deposition of the target material film.

The conventional vacuum sputtering equipment mostly adopts a leaf-type arrangement, and the robotic arm is set at the center to transport the object, and the related to-be-processed carrier is pushed into or pulled out of each leaf-type cavity equipment, and the When the carrier to be processed is moved out of the cavity equipment, it is necessary to pay great attention to the cleanliness of the overall environment to prevent dust from adhering to the carrier to be processed. Therefore, the above vacuum sputtering equipment is usually in a high dust-free environment.

However, the installation space required for vacuum sputtering equipment with leaf-type arrangement on the market is usually relatively large. Therefore, in order to maintain a large-area high-dust-free environment, the increase in plant cost will inevitably lead to an increase in process cost. Furthermore, the inside of the chamber of the vacuum sputtering equipment requires a high vacuum environment, and the stability of the airflow during pumping will have a significant impact on the sputtering efficiency and quality.

The main purpose of this creation is to solve the problems of low sputtering quality and high sputtering cost of the previous vacuum sputtering equipment.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides an independent continuous process system for plasma processing an object to be processed. The independent continuous process system includes a pretreatment machine and a first independent process machine And a terminal independent process machine. The pre-processing machine pre-processes the objects to be processed; the first independent processing machine is connected to the pre-processing machine and receives the objects to be processed from the pre-processing machine. The first independent processing machine has a process cavity and two valves , the two valves are respectively arranged on both sides of the process chamber, and the process chamber is sequentially provided with a first vacuum pumping area, a plasma processing area and a second vacuum pumping area which are connected to each other; the terminal independent process machine Connected to the side of the first independent process machine away from the pre-processing machine, the terminal independent process machine has a terminal process cavity and a terminal valve, and the terminal valve is arranged in the terminal process cavity close to one of the first independent process machines On the side, the terminal process chamber is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area, a terminal plasma processing area and a second terminal vacuum pumping area which are communicated with each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the first independent process machine further includes a first vacuum pumping module and a second vacuum pumping module, and the first vacuum pumping module corresponds to the first vacuum pumping. The position of the area is connected with the first vacuum pumping area, the second vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the second vacuum pumping area and is connected with the second vacuum pumping area; the terminal independent process machine further includes a first vacuum pumping area. A terminal vacuum pumping module and a second terminal vacuum pumping module. The first terminal vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the first terminal vacuum pumping area and communicates with the first terminal vacuum pumping area. The two terminal vacuum pumping modules correspond to the positions of the second terminal vacuum pumping area and are communicated with the second terminal vacuum pumping area.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the other side of the final process cavity different from the final valve is closed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the first vacuum pumping module and the second vacuum pumping module are arranged on the top surface of the first independent process machine; the first terminal vacuum pumping module and the second terminal vacuum pumping module The air extraction module is arranged on the top surface of the terminal independent process machine.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the plasma processing area and the terminal plasma processing area respectively have a sputtering module, the sputtering module has a target, and the process cavity and the terminal process cavity respectively have a sputtering module for moving. The transport module of the object to be processed, the transport module moves the object to be processed horizontally along an X-axis direction, and the length of the target material on the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction is greater than the length of the object to be processed on the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction. length.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the process cavity and the terminal process cavity respectively have a top cover, the top cover is respectively disposed on the top surface of the process cavity and the terminal process cavity, and the top cover is located in the first vacuum pumping mold respectively. Between the group and the second vacuum pumping module and between the first terminal vacuum pumping module and the second terminal vacuum pumping module, the top cover can be selectively opened.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the valve and the terminal valve are vertical up and down switches, and the valve and the terminal valve are normally closed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a second independent process machine is further included, and the second independent process machine is connected between the first independent process machine and the terminal independent process machine.

Therefore, both the process chamber and the final process chamber of the present invention have two sets of vacuum pumping areas and vacuum pumping modules interconnected with the vacuum pumping areas, so that the process chamber can be cleaned in a short time. The inside of the body is made into a high vacuum environment, and the vacuum pumping area and the vacuum pumping module are arranged symmetrically, so as to solve the problem that the quality of sputtering is affected by the uneven air flow in the plasma process chamber.

In order to facilitate the description of the central idea expressed in the above-mentioned column of creative content of this creation, specific embodiments are used to express it. Various objects in the embodiments are drawn according to scales suitable for enumeration and description, rather than the scales of actual elements, which will be described together first.

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 , which disclose an independent continuous process system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is used for plasma processing an object 200 to be processed. The independent continuous process system 100 includes a pretreatment The machine 10 , a first independent process machine 20 and a terminal independent process machine 30 . The object to be processed 200 is a semiconductor wafer, a circuit board, a flexible board, a composite carrier and the like.

The preprocessing machine 10 is used for preprocessing the object 200 to be processed. Wherein, the pretreatment is a treatment before the object to be processed 200 is subjected to the plasma treatment process, such as heating, cleaning the surface of the object to be processed 200, preliminary vacuuming and the like.

The first independent process machine 20 is connected to the pre-processing machine 10 and receives the objects to be processed 200 from the pre-processing machine 10 . The first independent process machine 20 has a process chamber 21 and two valves 22. The valves 22 are respectively disposed on both sides of the process chamber 21. The process chamber 21 is sequentially provided with a first vacuum evacuation area 211 that communicates with each other. , a plasma processing area 212 and a second vacuum pumping area 213; the valve 22 is a vertical up and down switch type, and the valve 22 is normally closed. Wherein, the valve 22 has a vertical up-down switch design, which can keep the valve 22 closed when repairing the inside of the cavity of the first independent process machine 20, so as to avoid affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 , in this creative embodiment, the first independent process machine 20 includes a first vacuum pumping module 23 and a second vacuum pumping module 24 . The first vacuum pumping module The group 23 corresponds to the position of the first vacuum pumping area 211 and communicates with the first vacuum pumping area 211 ; the second vacuum pumping module 24 corresponds to the position of the second vacuum pumping area 213 and communicates with the second vacuum pumping area 211 . The pumping area 213 is connected to each other. In this embodiment, the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 are disposed on the top surface of the first independent process machine 20 . Among them, as shown in FIG. 4 , the first vacuum pumping area 211 and the second vacuum pumping area 213 are symmetrically arranged, so the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 can quickly adjust the process The inside of the cavity 21 is pumped, and the uniformity of the vacuum pumping is improved, so that the plasma processing area 212 located in the middle can stably perform the related plasma processing processes such as plasma cleaning and etching.

The terminal independent process machine 30 is connected to the side of the first independent process machine 20 away from the pre-processing machine 10 . The terminal independent process machine 30 has a terminal process cavity 31 and a terminal valve 32 . The terminal valve 32 is arranged on a side of the terminal process chamber 31 close to the first independent process machine 20 , and the terminal process chamber 31 is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area 311 and a terminal plasma processing area which are connected to each other. 312 and a second terminal vacuum pumping area 313 . In this embodiment, the other side of the terminal process cavity 31 different from the terminal valve 32 is closed, and the terminal valve 32 has a vertical up and down switch design, and the terminal independent process machine 30 can be closed inside the cavity. During the repair, the closing of the terminal valve 32 is still maintained to avoid affecting the operation of other adjacent processing machines. According to usage requirements, an output port (not shown) can also be provided on the other side of the final process chamber 31 different from the final valve 32 , so that the object to be processed 200 can be output from the output port.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 , in this creative embodiment, the terminal independent process machine 30 includes a first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and a second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 . The first terminal vacuum pumping module 34 The air module 33 corresponds to the position of the first terminal vacuum extraction area 311 and communicates with the first terminal vacuum extraction area 311 ; the second terminal vacuum extraction module 34 corresponds to the position of the second terminal vacuum extraction area 313 . The first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 are arranged on the top surface of the terminal independent process machine 30 . Wherein, as shown in FIG. 4 , the first terminal vacuum pumping area 311 and the second terminal vacuum pumping area 313 are symmetrically arranged, so the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 can The interior of the final process chamber 31 is quickly pumped, and the uniformity of vacuum pumping is improved.

Furthermore, in this creative embodiment, the plasma processing area 212 and the terminal plasma processing area 312 respectively have a sputtering module 40 ; the process chamber 21 and the terminal process chamber 31 respectively have a sputtering module 40 for moving the process to be processed The transport module 50 of the object 200 and a top cover 60 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the sputtering module 40 has a target 41 ; the transport module 50 moves the object 200 to be processed horizontally along an X-axis direction. Please refer to FIG. 5 again, the target 41 is on a horizontal plane And the length L1 perpendicular to the X-axis direction is greater than the length L2 of the object to be processed 200 in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction, so as to achieve complete coverage of the plasma range and avoid the object to be processed 200 in the plasma process. There are uneven conditions. The transportation module 50 horizontally transports the object 200 to be processed from the pre-processing machine 10 to the terminal independent process machine 30 along the X-axis direction, so as to perform plasma processing on the object 200 to be processed, and the object to be processed 200 is completed After the process, the transport module 50 horizontally transports the object 200 to be processed after the process is completed from the terminal independent process machine 30 back to the pre-processing machine 10 along the X-axis direction.

Wherein, the process sequence of the object to be processed 200 is as follows: (1) The pretreatment machine 10 is used to pre-process the object to be processed 200 before the plasma treatment process, such as heating, cleaning the surface of the object to be processed 200, preliminary vacuuming, etc. etc.; (2) After the object to be processed 200 is pre-processed by the pre-processing machine 10, the object to be processed 200 enters the inside of the process chamber 21, and the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 are paired with each other. The process chamber 21 is evacuated to make the inside of the process chamber 21 into a high vacuum environment. After that, the sputtering module 40 in the plasma processing area 212 performs plasma processing on the object 200 to be processed, and because of the plasma processing There will be gas input during the process, so the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 will continue to pump air during the plasma processing time to maintain the internal vacuum of the process chamber 21 (3) After the process object 200 is processed in the plasma processing area 212, the object to be processed 200 enters the interior of the final process cavity 31, and repeats the above process in the process cavity In the process in the body 21, the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 pump the final process chamber 31, so as to make the interior of the terminal process chamber 31 into a high vacuum environment, After that, the sputtering module 40 in the terminal plasma processing area 312 performs final plasma processing on the object to be processed 200 , and the repeated steps will not be described again; (4) The object to be processed 200 completes the process of the terminal plasma processing area 312 After processing, in this embodiment, it is transported back to the outlet of the pre-processing machine 10 to continue the process of the next object to be processed 200 .

The top cover 60 is respectively disposed on the top surface of the process chamber 21 and the final process chamber 31 , and the top cover 60 is located between the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 and the first vacuum pumping module 24 respectively. Between the terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34, the top cover 60 can be selectively opened, so that when maintenance is required in the interior of the process chamber 21 or the interior of the terminal process chamber 31, the maintenance Personnel only need to open the top cover 60 to perform maintenance on the interior of the process chamber 21 or the interior of the final process chamber 31 . And as mentioned above, since the valve 22 and the terminal valve 32 are arranged independently, the process machine still maintains its independence from other cavities when repairing the inside of the cavity, so as to avoid affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines. operation without the need for the entire machine to be shut down for processing.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , in this creative embodiment, the independent continuous process system 100 further includes a second independent process machine 70 , and the second independent process machine 70 is connected to the first independent process machine 20 and the terminal independent process machine 30. The structure of the second independent process machine 70 is the same as that of the first independent process machine 20 , and the number of the second independent process machine 70 can be adjusted according to the needs of the user, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 . As shown, in this creative embodiment, the number of the second independent process machines 70 is one. In other embodiments, the number of the second independent process machines 70 can also be zero or more than two.

Thereby, this creation has the following advantages:

1. The process chamber 21 and the final process chamber 31 of this creation both have two sets of vacuum pumping areas and a vacuum pumping module interconnected with the vacuum pumping areas, so that the process can be completed in a short time. The inside of the cavity is made into a high vacuum environment, and the vacuum pumping area and the vacuum pumping module are arranged symmetrically, which can solve the problem of poor airflow uniformity caused by pumping in the previous process cavity, which affects the coating process.

2. The process machines in this creation operate independently, and each has its own valve setting. Therefore, when one of the process machines is undergoing maintenance, the other process machines can still continue to process the object 200 to be processed.

3. The valve 22 and the terminal valve 32 of this creation are designed with vertical up and down switches, and the valve 22 or The closing of the terminal valve 32 avoids affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines.

Although the present invention is described as a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art can make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The above-mentioned embodiments are only used to illustrate the present creation, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present creation. All kinds of modifications or changes that do not violate the spirit of this creation belong to the scope of the patent application for this creation.

100: Standalone Continuous Process System 200: Object to be processed 10: Preprocessing machine 20: The first independent process machine 21: Process cavity 211: The first vacuum pumping area 212: Plasma processing area 213: Second vacuum pumping area 22: Valve 23: The first vacuum pumping module 24: Second vacuum pumping module 30: Terminal independent process machine 31: Terminal process cavity 311: The first terminal vacuum pumping area 312: Terminal plasma processing area 313: Second terminal vacuum pumping area 32: Terminal valve 33: The first terminal vacuum pumping module 34: The second terminal vacuum pumping module 40: Sputtering module 41: Target 50: Transport Mods 60: top cover 70: Second independent process machine L1: length L2: length

[FIG. 1] is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an independent continuous process system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 2] is a schematic three-dimensional front view of the independent continuous process system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 3] is a three-dimensional schematic top view of an independent continuous process system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the process cavity or the terminal process cavity according to the present invention, which is used to show the internal partition status of the process cavity or the terminal process cavity. [Fig. 5] is a schematic cross-sectional view of the other side of the process chamber or the terminal process chamber of the present invention, which is used to indicate that the length of the target in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction is greater than that of the object to be processed in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the direction of the X-axis. The length in the X-axis direction.

100: Standalone Continuous Process System

10: Preprocessing machine

20: The first independent process machine

21: Process cavity

22: Valve

23: The first vacuum pumping module

24: Second vacuum pumping module

30: Terminal independent process machine

31: Terminal process cavity

32: Terminal valve

33: The first terminal vacuum pumping module

34: The second terminal vacuum pumping module

60: top cover

70: Second independent process machine

Claims (8)

An independent continuous process system for plasma processing an object to be processed, the independent continuous process system comprising: a preprocessing machine for preprocessing the object to be processed; a first independent process machine, which is connected to the pre-processing machine and receives the object to be processed from the pre-processing machine, the first independent process machine has a process chamber and two valves, the two valves are respectively disposed on both sides of the process chamber, and the process chamber is sequentially provided with a first vacuum pumping area, a plasma processing area and a second vacuum pumping area which are communicated with each other; and A terminal independent process machine is connected to the side of the first independent process machine away from the pre-processing machine, and the terminal independent process machine has a terminal process cavity and a terminal valve, and the terminal valve is arranged on the The terminal process chamber is close to one side of the first independent process machine, and the terminal process chamber is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area, a terminal plasma processing area and a second terminal vacuum pumping area which are connected with each other. gas zone. The independent continuous process system according to claim 1, wherein the first independent process machine further comprises a first vacuum pumping module and a second vacuum pumping module, the first vacuum pumping module It corresponds to the position of the first vacuum evacuation area and communicates with the first vacuum evacuation area. The second vacuum evacuation module corresponds to the position of the second vacuum evacuation area and communicates with the second vacuum evacuation area. The gas area is connected; the terminal independent process machine further includes a first terminal vacuum pumping module and a second terminal vacuum pumping module, and the first terminal vacuum pumping module corresponds to the first terminal vacuum pumping module The position of the gas area is communicated with the first terminal vacuum extraction area, and the second terminal vacuum extraction module corresponds to the position of the second terminal vacuum extraction area and communicates with the second terminal vacuum extraction area. The independent continuous process system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the other side of the final process chamber different from the final valve is closed. The independent continuous process system according to claim 2, wherein the first vacuum pumping module and the second vacuum pumping module are arranged on the top surface of the first independent process machine; the first terminal The vacuum pumping module and the second terminal vacuum pumping module are arranged on the top surface of the terminal independent process machine. The independent continuous process system of claim 4, wherein the plasma processing area and the terminal plasma processing area respectively have a sputtering module, the sputtering module has a target, the process chamber and the The final process chambers respectively have a transport module for moving the object to be processed. The transport module performs horizontal movement of the object to be processed along an X-axis direction. The target is on a horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis. The length of the direction is greater than the length of the object to be processed in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction. The self-contained continuous process system of claim 4, wherein the process chamber and the final process chamber respectively have a top cover, and the top cover is respectively disposed on the top surface of the process chamber and the final process chamber , the top cover is located between the first vacuum pumping module and the second vacuum pumping module and between the first terminal vacuum pumping module and the second terminal vacuum pumping module, the top The cover can be selectively opened. The independent continuous process system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve and the terminal valve are vertical up and down switching types, and the valve and the terminal valve are normally closed. The independent continuous process system as claimed in claim 1 further includes a second independent process machine, the second independent process machine being connected between the first independent process machine and the terminal independent process machine.

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